Thursday, 20 December 2012

Universal Jobmatch to be compulsory

You weren't paranoid, you were right. It's just been announced that registration with the Universal Jobmatch site is to be compulsory for those on JSA, so that activity can be monitored. In a very brief piece on Radio 4's The World at One, it was announced that it will be "mandatory" soon, and those who refuse to register or then don't do what their advisers tell them can be punished. Iain Duncan Smith says it will enable advisers to ensure that claimants are applying for the right jobs. There was a brief mention by the reporter of the recent problems with fake vacancies on the site, but not of the possibilities of harvesting people's personal data.
There was also mention of the proposal to pay benefits via a card with restrictions on it. IDS said that they have been looking for some time at whether it would be feasible. There are no plans at the moment, but they are thinking about it for such groups as drug addicts.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse .....

If it is compulsary to use this inept site.Would it be ok with A4e to be my witness in a sanction hearing, that i am using other more secure sites to job search.I have documented evidence of these searches which A4e & TNG also have.As i am an A4e CUSTOMER will they stand up and back me against the goverment.It would appear that for £74/week i have given up my right to a choice

Moving to a card system that restricts what claimants can obtain is a way of cutting unemployment and sickness payments to the lowest possible level. This is because the government can decide what types of food, brands of toothpaste, soap etc can be purchased.

I do not drink or smoke but I spend £10 per week attending two sports lessons. I meet people and get some exercise and I regard it as essential to my mental health, as I have no friends or family and spend most of my time alone.

Will I able able to spend £10 per week on my sports lessons if the card is introduced? Not very likely.

As for the Universal Job Match. The DWP already has the power to force claimants to show them copies of CV's and job applications and can contact employers to check if claimants are applying for work. So why do they now feel the need to use this new system?

I have seen many jobs that are merely copies of old jobs that are being reposted again on the new Jobmatch site. Are people going to have their only means of support stopped for up to three years because they have not applied for a job that doesn't exist? This is the sort of thing you used to hear about happening in Russia under the Communists.

I had grave reservations about the Universal Jobmatch, as I am concerned about who is looking at my job applications, and covering letters etc. After looking into it I discovered that the DWP could compel a claimant to register on the system, but did not have the authority to force them to use it. This is because how somebody searches for employment is entirely up to them.

A Jobseekers direction has to be reasonable in light of a claimants circumstances. I cannot see how it can be reasonable to expect anybody to spend many hours applying for jobs that do not exist.

It is also the case that under the data protection legislation, the amount of information held on a claimant has to be reasonable. I accept that it is reasonable for the state to ask citizens to provide evidence that they are looking for employment, but I do not accept that it is reasonable for an anonymous civil servant to have continuous access to every job email, every CV, every covering letter, and every job application that I make.

I will require the DWP to ask my permission before accessing my data, and I will also expect a sensible explanation of why they are doing it. A general fishing expedition in to my personal business would not, in my mind, constitute a sensible explanation.

I am not a militant standing on a soap box beating a drum, but I have the uncomfortable feeling that unless the unemployed begin to protest against measures such as these in a few years time we will be living in a police state being told what to buy and what to wear and with our every move watched, recorded and analysed.

Surely making it compulsory to sign up would be in breach of claimants' human rights? Some people will not be able to access the internet every day to use the site because they can't afford to have the internet at home. Dunce Smith was claiming earlier that people will also be able to access the site in 'libraries and internet cafes', but a lot of libraries are closing. As it is, the existing libraries often have a very limited number of computers available and restrict access to a few hours. As for internet cafes, are claimants supposed to spend a significant amount of their money on using these every day?! A lot of people on JSA already struggle to afford to pay for the basics on the piddling amount of money they receive, never mind forking out for internet access.

There has also been no consideration as to how people who live in rural areas or have reduced mobility are supposed to access the 'service' every day. If people are punished for not signing up, surely that is a breach of their human rights, as everyone in our so-called society needs at least some money to survive.

If asked why I would not sign up? (1)Data security (2) Will the WP be able to also access the data (3) Will the JCP or the WP allow me access to a computer daily that is within reasonable distance to my residence and if not will they cover travel expenses (4)If 3 is not viable will the DWP/JCP/WP fund/loan a Computer and Internet service at my residence? I realize that Computers are available at the Library,but my local has been closed.I do have a laptop and search sites daily for now,but if my benefit is put on a card how will I pay for this service as I am sure this is considered a luxury.

I may have a bottle of milk in the fridge,but it doesn't mean I have a Cow in the garden.

I haven't even been told by the job centre or A4e about the new Universal Jobmatch site or been asked to register on it. I've still registered though as most jobs I want to apply for I have to register & I don't mind the job centre being able to see my searches, as it will show how much I actually do. I haven't made my CV public to searches though & I won't do that.

If anyone is ever going to buy into this system then IDS and the DWP need to go back to basics and tackle the issues.I have a background as a successful commercial recruiter and have also worked for a subcontractor to one of the primes delivering the WP (a position from which I was let go because I refused to herd people around like cattle in order to statisfy monetary KPIs!).Over the past few years I have experienced 3 redundancies and signed on for brief periods so I have some first hand experience of how JCP advisors handle jobseekers and was able to make the following observations:Whilst they might might be trained to administer the benefits system, the majority of JCP advisors have no experience of the commercial recruitment market and the various factors involved in making a successful placement in a competitive job market. Their advice on the structure and content of a CV is both outdated and inept. They advocate a "spray & pray" approach where jobseekers are encouraged to flood the market with unsuitable applications to unsuitabble vacancies which only results in demotivating genuine jobseekers and frustrating potential employers who inevitably stop advertising on Directgov or UJ due to the deluge of forced unsuitable applications.I suggest that anyone trusted to advise or direct jobseekers should be required to demonstrate a successful track record in successfully matching and placing applicants in gainful employment before they are entrusted with the role of advising the unemployed at the expense of the taxpayer.On the subject of UJ - why the government has gone to the huge expense of commissioning this inadequate site when there are already a host of excellent sites out there I do not know.There is nothing wrong with asking jobseekers to demonstrate that they have looked for work but this could be done for a couple of pence per time by asking the jobseeker to print off their application history from a pc within the jobcentre. No data protection issues, no expense of paying DWP employees to trawl through peoples personal accounts. No vast amounts of money wasted on producing a site that is not as good as those already out there. The government could also reimburse the cost of advertising on a commercial job board to the employer if they employ someone who was previously unemployed to negate the need for a government run site which offers free advertising.By introducing schemes like the WP the DWP has admitted that it does not have the necessary expertise to get people into work - if it did then the WP would not exist. Should they not be concentrating on upskilling and employing people with the necessary experience rather that wasting their money on any more hair brained schemes like UJ and benefit payment cards?

So Smith wants UJM to be compulsory now does he? Good! If anyone is duped by dodgy job vacancies that compromise their personal safety and data, then Smith is PERSONALLY responsible!

If I were interviewing him, I'd put it to him that from the day UJM becomes compulsory, he should publicly apologise for any subsequent errors and fraud that may / will arise. And then hand in his resignation.

Or as an alternative, bet one year of his ministerial salary that from next year there will be no repaeat of the fake and dodgy vacancies that have plagued the system so far.

I very much doubt he'd have the grace to do the former. Or the courage to do the latter!

Today is the 21st of December. I signed on yesterday. It takes three working days for an electronic payment to be made. That means that I won't be paid until Thursday of next week.

I had to go into a bank branch to withdraw the £6.43p that was left in my account - cash machines only issue notes.

I haven't signed the back of my card so I had to answer security questions.

I went to a supermarket and bought four packets of porridge which will keep me feed until next Thursday, and also a box of tea bags and some milk: well it is Christmas.

I checked the electricity meter when I got home. It has £1.54p left on it. When the electricity runs out I will have to boil up the porridge in a home made cooking stove I can rig up from an old tin, tissue paper, and a match.

I don't have any candles, nor any money to buy any so I guess I'll be sitting in the dark.

My work programme adviser gave me the name of a website they run which has jobs advertised on it. I looked at it yesterday.

The first job I had already applied for and had a closing date that ended last month. The second was a link to an employment agency that I walked to on last Friday in the rain to hand in my CV. I was told somebody would call me, but nobody did. The third job was advertised in the city I live in but when I clicked on the link it showed a job advert for a town that is a three hour train journey away. I didn't look at any more.

I have a job interview in the New Year, but I doubt I'll get it. It is simple arithmetic if there are twenty five people short listed for one job, then only one will get it: 25 does not go into 1.

I guess the work programme would claim a success fee if I did get the job, even though I applied for it a month before I was referred to them and completed the application on my own.

They talk a lot about scrounging but it is different if you are a welfare to work provider I'd never heard of claiming £1,500 because I found a job without any help from them.

If vouchers come in for the unemployed to buy only food, clothing, how can someone who is unemployed pay for a mobile phoner? or a landline phone? and the internet all essential in this day to look for work.

I picked up on this also,today at the JCP and the WP I informed them that I will no longer be able to afford a mobile or the internet,both Advisers said no problem.I signed up for UJS and we proceeded to apply for a position,completed the app and pressed Submit..Error!!!! You have not put in a phone number,the Adviser put in 0000000000,please put in a valid number...Also asked what facilities are available for job search?..Try the Library! Did anybody really think this out?

well of course. Your internet connection is provided by your friendly WP provider isn't it, just like on the ND.Although in your case they may not want you there because they'll have to pay you even more in travel costs :-)

Actually there used to be (within the past 6 months) a scheme where you passed a computer access course and they gave you a laptop and a cheap internet connection. I don't know who paid for that, but it's probably not running any more.

Historian,on a side note,I explained that I have agreed to work the 15 hours contract,less than happy at the WP,JCP very restrained,I will still have to sign on and be available for UJM as well as any "Training" deemed necessary,what surprised me was the negative attitude and lack of support almost like I have done something wrong,slightly confused,as although the hours are short it is a start in a very competitive market.

https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Privacy/Default.aspx Employers may be located in countries whose data protection laws may not be the same as the laws in your country. For example, your nameless CV may be seen and accessed by employers outside the European Economic Area who have access to our searchable database. By making your CV searchable, you are agreeing to your information being sent to anyone with access to the CV database YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE YOUR CV SEARCHABLE. PLEASE READ ALL THE INFOMATION IN THE LINK I HAVE PROVIDED.

Well today 15/03/2012 I was told (and also got it in writing) that I will need to make my CV public and that it will also need to have my personal contact data, name/address/telephone/email - if I did not comply then I could loss my JSA.

This sickens me, I been working all my life and was made redundant recently due to site relocation (offshore), DPA and security in general was a high priority in my last job and also in my personnel life.

Something has got to be done about this. Where are 38Degrees? Where are all the pro-privacy anti-big brother tories? Where are the unions? HOw much longer have we got to sit on our hands while the likes of the unions do nothing. GENERAL STRIKE NOW!

You have to be in work and pay monthly subscriptions to be part of a union. Some unions will accept unemployed individuals providing they have the necessary qualifications. You will then have to pay your subscription from your JSA. Best of luck with this.GENERAL STRIKE due to UJM. Best of luck with this also.

They don't care because the majority of the population want to see the unemployed suffer thanks to government propaganda.

There's something very wrong when a society is sympathetic towards its murderers, paedophiles and rapists but treats its jobless with such scorn. I honestly don't think governments care about the morality of their population only that they work hard.

Really? You obviously haven't read much of the comment here, or understood what's going on. But then, you're a product of the propaganda. You "suspect" without any knowledge on which to base your suspicion.To be out of work means to be subjected to relentless indignity. Trying to hang on to a shred of control over your own life is very difficult. This absurd UJ takes away a bit more of that control. I'm tempted to hope that you find that out for yourself before long.

I don't think certain people understand what exactly a general strike is, a general strike is when the entire workforce of a country take strike action. Calling for a general strike in order to protect the rights of workers is perfectly reasonable, UJ is indeed a violation of those rights and an expansion of the big brother state as the Welfare system is there for their benefit too. Calling for a strike against UJ isn't calling for a strike of the unemployed, it's calling for a strike to protect our rights in general.

That you see the rights of the unemployed and the rights of the employed as separate entities demonstrates just how successful the campaign of demonisation has been.

As for UJ, does it make sure a person answers the phone? Responds to emails? Does it detailed feedback from employers about how cooperative any given applicant was? Unless it does these things, it's no better for sniffing out people who don't work than before.

Although I do accept a strike against UJ is unlikely, such is how effective the propaganda is.

"I suspect that much of the opposition to the universal jobmatch comes from people who do the minimum to look for work and don't really want a job."

Or maybe people that do make a lot of effort to find work, don't bother with government systems because they are so bad!Hence don't want anything to do with them.

The UJ system is largly a data agreggator, it just takes jobs from existing jobs boards which most seekers already use. Hence it is duplicating existing effort, for which the government are paying for.The only reason for doing that is to implement a big brother scheme, for monitoring jobseekers activities.

What jobseekers really need is for employers to be flexible and open minded, rather than using complex filtering systems to prevent the unemployed getting a job.

Another point is that the unemployed are competing against those already in work and are just moving from one position to another.It's not a level playing field and instead of giving REAL help, successive governments prefer to use big sticks to beat the unemployed with.

There is also an issue that there will ALWAYS be unemployed, to some extent society have to accept that, even if they don't like it.

I am a Employment Advisor based in Staffordshire. Yesterday, whilst helping a client to do some jobsearch, he typed in a Stoke-on-Trent postcode, and within the returned results was a vacancy with the title "iron".

To satisfy our curiosity, we clicked on and found a CV for a young lady displayed in all its glory, complete with full contact details.

This has now been removed, but we couldn't believe what we were seeing...

The UJ site is shockingly bad, but this was too far. I did consider printing off the advert, or taking a screengrab, but I wonder if this could be retrieved by a techie-type?

Jan 2012 i was asked by A4e to attend 2 course,s.A 1st Aid & Health n Saftey.I went and got 2 cert,s.I assume that they were trying to use up there yearly budget before April.Today i asked about any accredited course,s that i could swell my cv out with starting in the new year.I was informed of Indian head massage,hopi ear wax,reiki healing.BUT the best was..PAINTING WITH GLASS..I was informed that it was thereputic..Are ppl who are unemployed allowed thereputic pastimes.do we need them! Cos we just lay in bed all day watching sky on a huge big tv :-)

This is probably because they have picked up on what I said a few weeks ago about courses being available free/reduced rates for the unemployed. So they will not be paying for it, tax payers will. Check out your local college and see which courses are free/reduced fees for job seekers and I expect you'll find they're the same ones.

Most courses will run with academic year so will have started in September so you won't find many now. Suggest they send you on a fire marshall's course as that's worth doing and can go on your CV (it will need renewing).

I was just wondering how confidential your details really are on the UJ database to the likes of Debt collection agency's etc? I'm sure there's a lot of people out there trying to stay under the creditors radar and would be concerned that this would blow there cover?

I used completely false information and was given a government gateway ID.

It sends a confirmation email (the only bit of info that was real), which in my case caused an error. Instead of insisting on confirmation again via email, I was able to login and use the system without any confirmation.

This in turn of course puts a question mark over 'using' the UJ system. Since you can create an account that the job centre can't see.

So as far as the rules are concerned you are using it, but the jobcentre can't see!

I have been an active member of an award winning science advocacy web site for a few years now. I'm also very aware of how easy it is for hackers to get into web sites.

Sometime ago the web site was hacked into and the personal details of the sites members (including mine) were put onto a Russian server.

Since then, the private conversations, names and email addresses of members have been used by many of those opposed to the science and the web site.Individuals have had nasty personal attacks online, work addresses have been traced and used to post information to (such as legal warnings etc).

I escaped lightly because the site database didn't have my full name and I was able to abandon the email address that they posted.

The point is, that with even minimal information online, such as a name and email address, from that you can trace social media, work addresses and even in some cases home addresses.

So Putting more information online, including details about hobbies, work experience etc is asking for trouble.Modern systems are extremely vulnerable despite what techies (interested parties) might say.It was pretty bad when everything was on paper, unscrupulous agencies would sell their data onto other businesses. Now that data can be copied in a few seconds by a hacker and a few seconds later can be posted on internet servers that are out of the jurisdiction of the UK government.

Just so that I know what we're all talking about, I went to the site and searched for jobs, without registering. I looked for vacancies in the field I used to work in, within 10 miles of my home. Loads came up, although some were "apprentice". The variation in pay was enormous, and I wondered how I would fare, as an unemployed person, if I put my reason for not applying as the low pay. It was difficult to see whether all those jobs were still open as many were posted in November. I couldn't see how it could take more than a few minutes a day to check on any new vacancies. As an aggregate of vacancies it's okay, but I would still want to check on other sites. And I would resent very much someone else checking up on what I'd done.

Many of the jobs on the UJ system are taken from jobs boards, which in turn are used by agencies.

So basically if you use the UJ system, you will have your data there. Then when you apply for a job, the data will be sent to the jobs board (Monster etc) which will probably keep a copy, from there it will go to the agent (who probably already has you CV and info on their database from previous job applications), then they will decide whether to send it on to the employer.

So potentially your data will end up in four places (at least), one government, 3 commercial and that is just for a single job application!

This is supposed to be secure and efficient?

Modern job hunting is extremely hap-hazard, with software and business companies exploiting the chaos.

The times when you dealt with a few jobs agencies and had 1 to 1 understandings are long gone. Now agencies post the same job on x number of jobs web sites, so it is difficult to see how many times you have applied for the same job.

I mean in the old days it was normal practice to limit the number of agencies you dealt with, now that is practically impossible.

Will the Jobcentre send out a letter telling me to do this or will they just leave it to a4e? I've been booked on a two day training course at a local collage by a4e, which it says...will cover uploading my profile and CV to the new JCP and how to use the website. I mean, I don't have to this it untill the jobcentre tells me...do I?

Sounds a bit over the top sending people on a training course to show how to use it!Especially as it just duplicates existing commercial systems that jobseekers already use.More public money being spent and I guess the college are happy to run courses like that, having had big cuts in adult education spending.

My understanding is that the intrusive elements of the system are optional, eg you can opt out of them. Like choose not to allow the DWP to monitor your activities and choose to not allow your CV to be publicly viewable by potential employers etc.

In this respect it is possible that IDS has been playing to his political audience and doing the usual political lies thing in public.

However I guess we will have to see. Most likely the biggest problem will be over-zealous and mis-informed job-centre advisors, trying to dictate things.

You are not legally required or mandated to give them access to your UJ account. JCP asked me about this last time i signed on, and i said no i have not given thme permission, and i asked if i would be sanctioned for not doing so, and they said no i wouldn't be sanctioned.

One of the flaws in the UJ and previous system is the fact that many of the jobs are indexed incorrectly or do not have enough text to describe the job and location sufficiently.

I have just been searching the UJ system and about a third of the suitable jobs I looked at were not in the locations that the UJ system suggested they were.

One said suggested the job was on the South Coast, when in fact it was in Hull.

Two suggested they were in one county, when in fact they were in a neighbouring county and in one case, the opposite side of the county, not on the border.

Really the only way of checking any of the jobs is to cut and paste the text from the UJ system and do a Google search in order to find the original advert at the job agencies web site or on a commercial jobs board where they take care to get the info correct.

I have got to sign on tomorrow and I have made excusses in the past for not signing up to the UJ, so I thought I best have a go, got through the ID and pass word bit, went to log in - sorry due to an internal error the system was unable to carry out the action requested. please accept our apologisies. return to Your details............. what..... kind of rubbish is this, I've printed it off to show advisor, back to old method me thinks.

I am getting so fed up with doing searches on UJ and it being extremely inaccurate.

I just thought I found an interesting job (two vacancies) in city 'A' just 3 miles from where I live. Clicked on the link to read the details. Became suspicious, so copied some of the details into a Google search. Google luckily found a match that took me to the actual company web site, with the same job details.

Turns out the company is at least 50 miles away and the two vacancies are 50 miles away and 450 miles away!No where near city 'A'.

Its crap, there are also Fake jobs on there, i applied for 1 and after a little research, it was nothing more than some unknown agency 200 miles away and there was no mention of the job on their website at all, con men!

I think my details on Universal Jobmatch have been hacked. I used an email address that I haven't used anywhere else unprotected and today I got a spam email using that address from a bogus lottery company.